The Sanford School of Medicine at the University of South Dakota (USDSM) is planning a symposium with the focus of "Emerging strategies: Bridging Basic and Clinical Science" to be held June 13-15, 2008. USDSM has recently made great progress in growing its research mission, approximately doubling the level of extramural grant support in the past five years. A majority of this growth has occurred in the basic sciences. We believe that the next step in the progression of our research program is to increase the level of translational research. Indeed, we feel this area of research holds a tremendous potential for growth in our region due to some of the unique populations (e.g. Native American, rural) present in the region. Accordingly, a major goal of the conference is to allow researchers from USDSM and the greater Midwest region an opportunity to interact with speakers of international stature that have been successful in bridging basic and clinical sciences. We also recognize that accelerating our progress in research will require the formation of strategic partnerships. Thus a second goal of the symposium, which will be regional in scope with invitations sent to the greater Midwest region, will be to initiate such partnerships with neighboring institutions. We anticipate approximately 300 attendees which would include basic science faculty, clinical faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students and undergraduate students in research tracks from the greater Midwest region. Invited talks will also be open to the public. In addition to the invited talks, a poster session will be held for attendees to present their current research. Ample discussion periods and an open forum panel discussion involving the invited speakers will allow for extensive interaction between participants. [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable] [unreadable]